Research article summary (published 2 Nov 2007):

Comparison of event-related potentials in attentional blink and repetition blindness.

Full Abstract

Attending to the first target in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) interferes with processing of the second target so that the participants fail to recognize the second target if the targets are separated by a stimulus onset asynchrony of 200-500 ms. This phenomenon is attentional blink (AB). Repetition blindness (RB) is an additional difficulty to recognize the second occurrence of the same stimulus in RSVP. A controversial issue in studies of both deficits is the processing level at which they occur. To compare the timing and mechanisms of AB and RB directly during the same RSVP stream, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to repeated and unrepeated targets. Comparable to earlier ERP studies on visual awareness, the results showed for both types of targets a negative amplitude difference between ERPs to consciously recognized and unrecognized targets during 250-350 ms from stimulus onset, suggesting that both AB and RB are associated with deficits of conscious perception, occurring at earlier stages than access to working memory. However, the perceptual deficit in RB is more severe, which may be related to higher overall negativity in response to repeated targets observed 150-300 ms after stimulus onset, suggesting stronger cortical baseline activation and higher perceptual threshold for repeated targets as compared with unrepeated ones.

Author information

Author/s: Koivisto, Mika (M); Revonsuo, Antti (A);

Affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland. mika.koivisto(-atsign-)utu.fi

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Brain research (Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jan; vol 1189 (issue ) : pp 115-26

Dates: Created 2008/01/14; Completed 2008/06/02;

PMID: 18035339, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adolescent Adult Attentional Blink - physiology Consciousness - physiology Electroencephalography Evoked Potentials - physiology Female Fixation, Ocular - physiology Humans

Humans Male Memory, Short-Term - physiology Photic Stimulation Reaction Time - physiology Recognition (Psychology) - physiology Sensory Thresholds - physiology Time Factors Visual Perception - physiology

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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